The invention relates in general to bait stations. More particularly, the invention relates to a bait station constructed of a base section in which a bait cup is disposed for holding the desired insect bait, and a separate cap piece which is constructed and arranged to be snap-fit onto the base section of the bait station in a tamper-resistant manner.
Bait stations for use in the treatment of insect and vermin infestation are well known. Common to insect bait stations is a housing of some type in which a bait is placed, a means for permitting insect access through the housing to the bait, and a housing cover or lid received on the bait station housing for sealing the insect bait therein. Additionally, some bait stations have openings or passages defined within the sidewall of the housing to allow insects to readily pass therethrough and gain access to the bait, while other bait station designs are constructed to have a maze-like passage for directing the insects therethrough and to the bait. Over the years, a great many bait station designs have been developed.
An early example of a bait station is the roach exterminator of U.S. Pat. No. 1,700,517 to Ross. The roach exterminator of Ross has a pasteboard housing with an upwardly extending sidewall having a series of openings defined therein for allowing the roaches, or other insects, to pass into the interior portion of the housing, in which a bait cup is positioned. A correspondingly shaped pasteboard cover is provided for being slidably and rotatably fit to the housing, the cover having a corresponding number of openings defined in the sidewall of the cover such that the cover can be rotated on the housing for opening and closing the openings therein.
Another early example of an insect bait station is the insect trap of U.S. Pat. No. 1,856,200 to Tippey, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3 thereof. Again, the bait station is comprised of a housing or receptacle open at its upper end, as defined by an upstanding sidewall, and having a series of openings defined therein for allowing passage of the insects therethrough. Bait is placed within the receptacle, and thereafter a cover is placed on the base for sealing the bait therein.
Yet another insect bait station is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,286,872 to Burdick, which discloses an expandable box with a non-removable cover in FIGS. 1-6 thereof. The device of Burdick is provided with a boxed bottom section and a correspondingly sized and shaped cover section. The cover is placed on the bottom section, and thereafter a top edge of the bottom section sidewall is deformed such that the cover cannot be removed from the bottom, but is otherwise slidably affixed thereto for opening and closing a series of openings defined in the sidewall of the bottom section. Although Burdick refers to his device as being adapted for use as an ant trap, nothing is disclosed in the ""872 patent with respect to how the trap is baited, however, or whether a bait is used at all.
A more recent example of a bait station is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,093 to Gentile, which discloses a feeding station for vermin having a base in which a series of ramps or pathways is defined so that insects pass therethrough toward a centrally located bait, with a cover that is passed over the base and adapted to seal the openings within the base once closed thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,854 to Hyatt discloses a granular bait station having an opening defined in the floor of a bottom portion of the trap so that insects, for example ants, can enter therethrough in order to access to the interior of the trap, whereupon they can withdraw a granular bait and return it to their nest. A separate cover is provided which is fit to the open top portion of the bottom of the bait station.
Still another bait station is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,960 B1 to Contadini et al., in which the bait station is comprised of a housing having a stake extending therefrom for positioning the housing on a soil surface, with a separate bait receiving or holding cartridge fit within the housing, and a cover passed over the housing for sealing the bait therein. Openings are defined in the bottom floor of the housing for allowing insects access to the cartridge and bait held within the bait station.
Numerous examples of bait stations of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,384 B1 to Dickson et al. also exist, in which an inexpensively formed bait station, for example a thermo-formed or thermo-set housing, is provided with a base, a bait, and a cover permanently affixed thereto for securing the bait therein.
What is needed, but seemingly unavailable in the art, is an insect bait station formed of a minimal number of parts, for example a base and a cap, the base having an integral bait cup or bait holder formed as a part thereof, where the cap can be securely received on the base in a tamper-resistant fashion, and where the sidewalls of the base support the cap once received thereon such that numerous ones of the bait station can be stacked one atop the other for storage during and after manufacture, or once baited and prepared for packaging, shipment, and use.
The present invention provides an improved bait station which overcomes some of the design deficiencies of the bait stations known in the art, and which is suited for use in treating insect and vermin infestations. The inventive bait station comprises a base section having a floor with a continuous upstanding sidewall extending along the periphery thereof, with at least one opening defined within the sidewall of the base section. A bait cup is disposed on the floor of the base section, and a cap is provided which is constructed and arranged to be received on the base section in a snap-fit. So constructed, the bait station of the instant invention can be quickly manufactured, for example by an injection molding process, a bait can be placed therein, and the cap quickly and easily affixed to the base section thereof.
The bait cup disposed within the base section is preferably formed as a part of the floor itself, and is provided with a frustoconical outer sidewall extending upwardly from the floor of the base section for defining a bait receiving cavity thereby. The frustoconical sidewall of the bait cup may be spaced from the sidewall of the base section for allowing insects to gain easy access to the interior of the bait station prior to climbing upward toward the insecticide or pesticide placed within the bait cup. Preferably, the sidewall of the bait station is provided with a radially spaced series of openings defined therein for allowing insects ready access to the bait. The base section sidewall openings may be of any desired shape and size, and thus may be tailored for the size of the insect or vermin for which the trap is to be used.
Additionally, the bait station comprises an annular ridge formed on the exterior surface of the sidewall of the base section and spaced from the floor thereof. The annular ridge extends at least partially about the sidewall of the base section, and the cap has an annular flange sized and shaped to be passed over the annular ridge for locking the cap on the base section in the snap-fit. The annular ridge formed on the exterior surface of the base section sidewall may be formed as a series of radially spaced ridge segments if so desired, or may be formed continuously.
The base section further comprises a flange formed on the exterior of the base section sidewall and extending radially away therefrom. The flange is spaced from the floor of the base section, and is positioned with respect to, i.e., spaced from, the annular ridge defined on the sidewall of the base section. So provided, when the cap is snap-fit to the base section, a leading edge of the cap is received against the flange so that the flange in concert with the sidewall of the base section will support the cap above the bait cup. Multiple bait stations may thus be stacked atop one another if, and as, desired. Additionally, this feature acts to xe2x80x9csealxe2x80x9d the cap to the base to enhance the tamper-resistance of the assembled bait station.
An additional feature of the bait station is the provision of a continuous upstanding sidewall extending along the periphery of the flange extending from the base section sidewall. The flange and its sidewall together define a channel for receiving the leading edge of the cap therein to make the bait station further tamper-resistant by protecting or denying access to the leading edge of the cap so that, for example, a child would not be able to insert a knife or a screwdriver between the leading edge of the cap and the flange in order to try to pry or lever the cap off of the base section once snap-fit thereto so as to gain access to the bait within the station.
The cap is comprised of a planar member and a continuous sidewall extending along the periphery of the planar member and away therefrom, the leading edge of the cap extending along the periphery of the cap sidewall spaced from the planar member. The annular flange of the cap which is sized and shaped to be passed over the annular ridge on the base section sidewall is defined on the interior sidewall of the cap, and is spaced intermediate the leading edge of the cap and the planar member thereof. The cap may further include a lip extending along the periphery of the planar member opposite the cap sidewall, the lip defining a recessed surface on the planar member of the cap adapted for receiving product labeling or marking(s) thereon. This lip, which extends about the xe2x80x9ctopxe2x80x9d flat portion of the cap planar member, is also used to strengthen the cap so that it does not become too flexible during the handling and placement of the cap on the base section during the bait station fabrication process.
The bait station is preferably formed of a plastic, for example polyethylene or polypropylene, and is preferably made in an injection molding process for ease and efficiency of manufacture. The bait station may, however, be formed of any conventional material suitable for use in handling insecticides or pesticides, and suitable also for use in either indoor and outdoor service environments, and capable of being manufactured through any of the known manufacturing processes.
Constructed of a plastic, preferably, the cap sidewall is constructed and arranged to be yieldably passed over the base section sidewall ridge, or ridges, and into the snap-fit for receiving the cap on the base section of the bait station. Accordingly, the cap is manufactured of a resilient material, which may again comprise polyethylene or polypropylene, capable of being yieldably passed over the base section sidewall ridge, and resiliently snapped or passed back into its original shape for sealing the cap in its snap-fit on the base section.
Constructed as described above, the sidewall of the cap is passed about and at least partially along the base section sidewall when the cap is snap-fit to the base section. So snap-fit, the planar member of the cap is received on and supported by the base section sidewall, and more preferably a top edge thereof extending continuously along the periphery of the base section sidewall. This, in fashion heretofore unknown in the art, allows the bait station to carry a greater load thereon as any forces on the cap are transmitted from the cap directly to the sidewall of the base section rather than on that portion of the cap passing over the open top of the base section, and in particular the bait cup disposed within the base section. In this fashion, the cap distributes any loads placed thereon along the base section sidewall so that the cap will not be otherwise punctured, ruptured, or torn should a load be placed thereon, nor that the cap would be deformed so as to allow the cap to come into contact with the insecticide, or force the insecticide or pesticide placed within the bait cup of the bait station through the openings defined within the sidewall of the base section.